Hello everyone and I'll apologize up front for the length of this post.

I am in the market to replace my aging, non-HDMI system and would like your help. All of my audio components are 15-25 years old and purchased through AAFES when I was in the Air Force. Although I'm 51 years old I have moderate technical abilities since I build my own PCs, setup all 3 HDTVs we own, put together my own rack system. My abilities, experience and knowledge are certrainly nowhere near the folks here.

While these components were fairly top of the line 15-25 years ago they've outlived their usefulness in today's HT-HDMI environment. Three years ago I had to jury rig cables just to get the plasma connected to the amp. While it may seem I'm brand-tied to Pioneer I am not but none of these components has ever failed. I plan to replace the amp/tuner/reverb/eq/DP with a current av HDMI receiver. While I can afford almost any priced unit I will not spend $2-6k on one. I'd like to keep the price in the $400-1,000 range. Key features for me are:

Reliability
Ease of setup and use
Ability to run my plasma, Comcast HD Cable Box, CD Deck, speakers
Video enhancement for the older plasma TV
Quality sound (although I am not the aficionado many here are)
Price/Quality (Not crazy about spending $2,000 but will lay out the $$ for a Onkyo 906 if that's the best bang for buck)

I have been reading articles and forums for days to the point I'm at analysis paralysis. Onkyo, Dendon, HK, Yamaha, Pioneer, etc. It's worse than choosing Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, etc. I realize everyone has their own personal preference and will consider recommendations with that understanding. Before this post I had decided to buy the Pioneer VSX-1018 ($419) but the more I read about other makes the more undecided I've become.